Profile details
About John Choong
John specialises in international arbitration, cross-border investigations and other dispute resolution matters with an Asia focus.
He has represented clients on a wide range of international commercial and investment arbitrations, including a number of complex billion-dollar arbitrations. John has also handled numerous investigations and regulatory/compliance matters, including a number of sensitive, high-profile matters that have resulted in successful resolutions.
John is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and sits as Council or committee member on a number of leading legal bodies. He is author or Editor of books published by Oxford University Press and Sweet & Maxwell, and is also a General Arbitration Editor of the Hong Kong White Book. John is an adjunct professor with The University of Hong Kong LLM in Arb course.
John is regularly appointed as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator in arbitrations under the leading rules, including the ICC, LCIA and HKIAC rules.
Recent work
- Successfully acting in a long-running billion USD arbitration for a leading Fortune 100 company, involving significant disputes of fact and law, resulting in a complete victory for our clients.
- Acting in a $300m+ Hong Kong ICC arbitration relating to a complex PRC joint venture dispute.
- Advising a global biopharmaceutical company in investigations in China by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, involving a range of anti-bribery/corruption allegations.
- Acting for a leading multinational in successfully resolving a wide-ranging dispute involving claims of serious mismanagement and warranty breaches in their China business, which ultimately resulted in a successful global settlement involving over 30 parties.
- Advising a multinational engineering company in a series of investigations in Asia, involving allegations of misconduct and collusion between staff and distributors, and in dealing with the related exposure under foreign laws, including the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Qualifications
Memberships
- Fellow, UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Fellow, Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators
- Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
Councils/Committees
- Hong Kong Government's Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration
- Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre F&A Committee
- International Chamber of Commerce
- Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators Council
- SIAC Users Council National Committee (Hong Kong)
- ICC Belt and Road Commission (Ambassador)
- ICC Task Force on the New York Convention (Singapore country rapporteur)
- Founding member, HK45 arbitration group
- Director, HK Arbitration Charity Ball
Professional qualifications
- Solicitor, Hong Kong
- Solicitor, England and Wales
- Advocate and solicitor, Singapore (currently a non-practising member)
- DipICArb, UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Publications
- A Guide to the SIAC Arbitration Rules (Oxford Univ Press)
- Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance: Commentary and Annotations (Sweet and Maxwell)
- Asia Arbitration Handbook (Oxford Univ Press)
- General Arbitration Editor, Hong Kong White Book (Thomson Reuters)